As computer-based systems, appliances, automated teller machines (ATM), point of sale terminals and the like have become more prevalent in recent years, the ease of use of the human-machine interface is becoming more and more important. Such interfaces should operate intuitively and with little or no training so that they may be employed by virtually anyone. Many conventional user interface devices are available on the market such as the key board, the mouse, the joystick, and the touch screen. One of the most intuitive and interactive interface devices known is the touch panel, which can be a touch screen or a touch pad. A touch screen includes a touch sensitive input panel and a display device, usually in a sandwich structure and provides a user with a machine interface through touching a panel sensitive to the user's touch and displaying content that the user “touches.” A conventional touch pad is a small planar rectangular pad, which can be installed near a display, on a computer, an automobile, ATM machines, and the like.
A conventional touch-sensitive component of a touch panel employs various types of touch sensing technology such as capacitive sensors, pressure sensors and the like as known in the art to detect locations being pressed on the panel. For example, a user contacts a region of a touch-screen commonly with a fingertip to emulate a button press and/or moves his or her finger on the panel according to the graphics displayed behind the panel on the display device.
A problem associated with conventional touch panels associated with recently developed flexible displays is that they lack the capability of providing interactive acknowledgements to indicate whether an intended input has been accepted or rejected.
Accordingly, there is a need for a touch panel or surface to provide an interactive feedback to indicate whether a user's selection has been accepted or rejected and/or other appropriate or desirable effects.